Seas Life Begins: Our First Team Training for the World's Toughest Row 2025
On 26th March our team met for the first time down at the Portland Marina in Dorset. We had three precious days. We are lucky in that we have a great training coach, Duncan Roy, who is literally showing us the ropes – without him we would be quite lost!
Learning all about the Ocean Rowing Boat: From Rudders to Waypoints
Duncan took us through every part of the boat in great detail. He showed us how to launch the boat safely, how to tie the boat up, how to fit and put the rudder together. He took us through the basics of navigation and he showed us how to plot waypoints on the Navionics Screen which was quite fortunate because on our first outing the mist and fog came in which took visibility down to zero. The auto helm guided us on along our waypoints and this really did show us how we have to trust the equipment. We tasted some dehydrated food in bags and used the stove on board.
Seasickness, the Bucket and a Solitary Pee Bottle
Everyone felt fine except poor Tom who was seasick overboard – due to the lack of visibility probably.
Stuart was the only one who had bought a pee bottle – he had proudly written his name on it but this did not seem to matter as we all had to share it. Not ideal – we noted that we all need to bring our own next time. The bucket was not used – we have bets on who will be the first to christen it!
Ocean Rowing Gear Check: Repairs and Admin
The wind was too strong on the third day so we went through the boat and noted down what equipment we needed to source for next time. We have three auto tillers – one of which is not working as it should do so these have been sent of to be serviced / repaired. We will need to get some new oars too. The life raft needs a service and the life jackets all need a service too. The amount of admin is quite substantial but luckily there are 4 of us to share the load.
We are looking forward to getting some more hours in but just booking days that everyone can do is proving quite a challenge.
Coffee, Sourdough and 120 Hours of Training
The days were long as Duncan had a lot to cram in. We discovered the ‘Bee Hive’ which makes amazing coffee and makes the most delicious sour dough bread – we had a couple of classroom sessions in there. We did not sleep on the boat this time but will on our next trip down to the marina which will be in May. We need to rack up at least 120 hours on the boat as a minimum before we even get to the start line. This is all part of the race rules.
Next Up: First Aid, Radios and Race Readiness
Next week some of us are doing a 6 day course down in Devon where we will get our radio licence, we will do a first aid at sea course and learn more about navigation – this is all mandatory for the crossing. We all will need to be signed off medically and our dentists will also have to sign a form saying we are fit to go.
Seas Life at Sea: One Stroke Closer to the Atlantic
This is just the beginning of our World’s Toughest Row 2025 journey. Every hour of training, every challenge faced, brings Seas Life one stroke closer to the Atlantic. We’ll keep showing up, learning, and laughing through it all.
Onwards…
